The present invention relates to door weather strips operatively coupled along peripheral edges of automobile doors for sealing spaces between doors and bodies by making elastic contact with the bodies of the automobiles.
As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, a door weather strip 10 has been operatively coupled along a peripheral edge of a door 1 of an automobile for sealing a space between the door 1 and an automobile body opening edge of a body 2.
As shown in FIG. 9, the door weather strip 10 is formed by connecting one end of a die molded part 70 to an end of an extrusion molded part 61, and another end of the die molded part 70 to an end of an extrusion molded part 62. The extrusion molded part 61 is operatively coupled on an upper part (roof side) of the peripheral edge of the door 1. The die molded part 70 is operatively coupled on an upper corner part 50 which is continuous with the upper part of the peripheral edge of the door 1.
In regard to the door weather strip 10, it has been well known to form a seal part 21 made of highly foamed sponge on a side of the door peripheral edge of an installation base member 11 (11a) of the extrusion molded part 61. According to the structure, as the door weather strip 10 is operatively coupled on the door, the seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge makes elastic contact with the peripheral edge of the door 1 for achieving an excellent sealing function (see, for example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4380935).
The door weather strip 10 of Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4380935, shown in FIG. 10 is formed by: positioning the end of the extrusion molded part 61 of the door weather strip 10 on a molding die not shown; fitting an end of the die molded part 70 to the end of the extrusion molded part 61 for integrally molding respective installation base members 11 (11a, 11c), respective main seal parts 12 (12a, 12c) having hollow shapes and respective sub seal parts 13 (13a, 13c) having lip shapes; and connecting the seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge to a seal part 22 of the installation base member 11 (11c) of the die molded part 70 for integral molding.
The seal part 22 of the installation base member 11 (11c) of the die molded part 70 and the seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge of the installation base member 11 (11a) of the extrusion molded part 61, which are integrally molded prevent water leak caused by submerged water.
The seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge is very soft, having low specific gravity that generally falls within a range of 0.05 to 0.4. On the other hand, the seal part 22 (generally made of solid material or sponge material of EPDM rubber or thermoplastic elastomer) of the installation base member 11 of the die molded part 70 has specific gravity higher than that of the seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge. Accordingly, fitting and connecting the seal part 21 to the seal part 22 by die molding requires operators' skills and is not simple.
More specifically, there have remained problems that: die molding material which flows toward the seal part 21 squeezes the seal part 21 made of the soft and highly foamed sponge during die molding; and the seal part 22 and the seal part 21 are not stably die molded. Since a resultant connecting surface is not flat, water enters an inner-cabin side from the connecting surface and an external appearance is degraded. After the seal part 21 connects with the seal part 22, a great difference in flexibility remains between the seal part 21 made of the soft and highly foamed sponge and the seal part 22 of the installation base member 11 (11c) of the die molded part 70. When the resultant door weather strip 10 is operatively coupled on a door panel including the door 1, bending stress from the seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge concentrates on a boundary on a position of connection, and then a connection may come off.
In this connection, the seal part 22 of the installation base member 11 (11c) of the die molded part 70 may have a lip shape thin in thickness for controlling pressure on a side of the seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge. But, the seal part 22 which is thin may be folded on a way of extension of the lip, may unintentionally be folded freely in a continuous longitudinal direction or may be wrinkled, thereby performing an insufficient sealing function. Also, as a cross sectional shape of the seal part 22 as a whole is miniaturized, the door panel may be out of reach of the seal part 22 having the lip shape.
As shown in FIG. 10, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4380935 discloses that: the extrusion molded part 61 is positioned on the die while forming the seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge on the installation base member 11 (11a) into the lip shape toward a tip end surface; and the end of the die molded part 70 is connected to the end of the extrusion molded part 61. But Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 4380935 does not disclose difficulty in connecting the seal part 21 made of the highly foamed sponge on the side of the extrusion molded part 61 to the seal part 22 on the side of the die molded part 70, or the shape necessary for the seal part 22.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide the door weather strips formed by stable die molding connection and capable of performing excellent sealing functions.